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Saturday, 5 May 2012

RFW - Night On The Town (Picture prompt)

Hello readers! Welcome back to Romantic Friday Writers. This week we have a picture prompt challenge. We are supposed to respond to this picture with a flash fiction piece or poem of 600 words or less.

I've tried something different with this piece of flash fiction. It was written in a hurry but I hope you enjoy it.

Word count: 550 word (FCA)

***

“I can’t believe
it,” Bimbo said as she paced the small grey ceramic tiled floor of the ladies
toilet. “I can’t believe you’re telling me this now, on my hen night.” She
turned and glared at Chika who returned her stare, her brown eyes pleading, two
straight lines creasing her forehead.

“I’m sorry.
I’ve wanted to tell you for so long but I didn’t know how to,” Chika replied.
She raised her hand and touched Bimbo’s arm. Bimbo swiped her hand away and
continued pacing. “All I can say is sorry,” Chika said before turning away
dejectedly. Funke who’d been standing back placed her hand on Chika’s shoulder
soothingly.

“Well,
sorry is not good enough,” Bimbo spat out, her anger still not abated.

“Bimbo, I
know you’re hurt,” Funke said softly.

“You think?”
Bimbo stopped pacing and glared at her.

Funke didn’t
back down though. “But you’re taking it out on the wrong person,” she continued
as if she hadn’t been interrupted by her irate friend. “Chika has been
struggling with how to tell you this for ages because she cares about you. So
do I.” You don’t know how much.

“You mean
you knew too,” Bimbo shouted, her gaze switching from one friend to the other.

“Yes, I
did,” Funke admitted. “We’ve been debating the right time to tell you. I told
her to wait.”

“I can’t
believe this.” Bimbo started pacing again. “I can’t believe my two best friends
could keep something like this from me.”

“You’ve
been so excited about planning the wedding,” said Funke softly. “That’s all you’ve
talked about for months. We didn’t want to shatter your dreams. So I went to
talk to Deji myself.”

“You did
what?” Bimbo’s face was a mix of anger and astonishment.

“I wanted
to find out if it was true.” Funke held Bimbo’s gaze without flinching. “I also
needed him to warn him. I couldn’t allow him to hurt you.”

“You had no
rights to do that,” Bimbo snapped.

“I have
every right to, Bimbo.” Funke took a step closer to her. “You’re my best friend.
I’ve always been there for you. I’ve always had your back no matter what. This
is no different.”

“This is
different. Deji is my fiancé.”

“Your fiancé
who is cheating on you with half of Lagos,” Funke spat out finally letting her
anger show through. She’d known Bimbo since they were in school together. Had
always felt emotions stronger than friendship but never able to tell her friend
for fear of breaking their relationship. She couldn’t stand to see anybody
hurting her. “And has been even before you got engaged.”

“I know,”
Bimbo gasped out. Funke noticed the tears that pooled in her eyes and her heart
clenched. She knew what if took for Bimbo to finally admit the truth. Bimbo’s
parents were very socially conscious and her upcoming wedding was heralded as
the wedding of the year by the media.

“He
promised me he would stop.” Bimbo crumpled in a heap on the floor, her body racking with sobs. “What am I going to do?”

Funke knelt
beside Bimbo and took her in her arms, cradling her body as she sobbed.

“It’s okay.
I’m here for you,” Funke whispered softly as she caressed Bimbo’s back. “No one
will hurt you again.”